Walls, Floors & Hardware

Not necessarily in that order. 

I started my weekend by finishing my kitchen ceiling light fixture.  I picked up some coffee stirrer straws at work and they were even black so I didn't have to paint them or anything.  Happy chance right?  And I remembered to take a picture of my entry way light fixture.

I was at a point where I really couldn't put off gluing the walls together anymore.  But before I did I needed to make a template for my backsplash.

I had to do a dry fit of the kitchen. Again.  But I added the bronze handles and drawer pulls to the cabinets.  I like the contrast with the dark hardware.

I also took the brass pulls off the island table and replaced them with bronze as well.

Once I got that done I glued my walls together and started to lay out my backsplash.

It is not easy to cut ceramic beads in half.  My arms hurt again.

There was a lot of waiting this weekend, for glue or stain or whatever to dry so I tried to stagger things out.  While glue is drying work on tiles, while tiles are drying work on the floors.  While the floor stain dries work on the bathroom lights.

After wiring the lights together and forgetting the plug I cut the wires and managed to do it right on my second attempt.  Rather than have pendant lights beside the mirror I just put two ceiling lights.

I plan on hiding the battery in the sink cabinet.  I might just be lazy and cut a bigger hole in the wall so I don't have to take the plug off the wires.  That's the worst part of the wiring for me, besides figuring out the order.

You can see the floors in the pictures above.  Here's a better one.

I used the Minwax Red Oak stain stick and then layered American Cherry over it. I like the look.  It's close to the color of the built ins but a bit darker.

I've been going nuts trying to figure out what to use as a countertop.  I want the backsplash to stand out, hence the neutral cabinets.  So I went with a cream colored countertop. 

Then I glued everything in.  I had to keep the bathroom in place so I wouldn't move the last cabinet out of place.  And I had to make sure everything fit in the way it was supposed to.  Lots of praying and cursing.  It was an interesting hour.

But everything is in. Finally.

I got a chair and tested the height of the desk before I glued it in and I'm pretty happy with it.  It's so small I decided against putting a lamp on it though.

Last touch was the faucet.

I'm debating on adding grout or not.  I kind of like how it looks without.  And I need to make a little curtain to hide the underside of the sink.

Now I need to figure out the next step.  Who knows what that'll be.  I've got the bathroom to finish, furniture for the living room to make and cushions for the window seat.  And I need to figure out a way to make candles for the fireplace if I decide against using my embers.  The murphy bed has no bedding and I need some sort of coat and shoe storage for the entryway.

Lots to do!  I'd better start making a list.